Hormones are your body’s messengers, sending signals to various organ systems to perform in ways that support and maintain healthy bodily function. When you experience a hormone imbalance, these messengers have become imbalanced, and your body suffers in a wide variety of ways.
Naturopathic medicine treats the individual using a combination of modern scientific practices and nature. Because each human being is unique and complex, naturopathic physicians do not follow a single path. Rather, we rely on a wide variety of noninvasive techniques and therapies which include healing techniques from both Eastern and Western traditions.
While alternative medicine has become more mainstream in the U.S. over the past decade, if you’re looking for natural treatments to your ailments you may still have lingering questions about how it works and what to expect.
Many people suffering from Type 2 diabetes and having difficulty balancing blood sugar have been given orders to exercise and lose weight too many times. If you are one of these individuals, you may have tried changing your diet and introduced some form of exercise to get your blood sugar under control. But just like many patients with abnormal sugar metabolism, one day you came to the conclusion that it is not so simple to lose those stubborn pounds, to keep your unruly appetite under control and to generate enough energy and stamina to keep up with your workout regimen.
Naturopathic medicine works to assist the body in retaining and maintaining its vital energy, so understanding what vitality is and what it allows us to do is essential to receiving beneficial treatment.
Aging is a natural part of life, but who says you have to look old? It is completely possible to retain your natural beauty and vitality throughout your life with a proper diet, exercise, and hormonal and stress-management treatments to ward off discomfort and disease.
Are you fidgety, forgetful or frequently have trouble concentrating? These frustrating traits are landmark symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). ADD is a psychological condition associated with issues related to concentration and focus. A related condition, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), includes additional symptoms, including poor impulse control with regards to physical or verbal actions and hyperactivity.
If you are a woman and approaching midlife, you may be waiting for menopause to come crashing down on you. However, some menopausal signs are much more subtle than the hot flashes and mood swings we hear so frequently about. Women of menopausal age should look for the following symptoms when considering their health midlife.
If you are a woman who begins to feel stressed and under the weather up to 10 days before her period starts, you’re in good company. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, at least 85% of menstruating women experience at least one pre-menstrual-syndrome-related symptom during each monthly cycle, whether emotional or physical.
Life is stressful! Work, family, and health pressures are just some of the daily struggles that we face. Over time, the day-to-day duties of life can build up and cause stress in excess of what is healthy. When this happens, sometimes the best thing you can do is sit back, relax, and get a massage.
The number one cause of many of the issues we see in our clinic, especially with women, is chronic stress. Stress prompts the body to release an ongoing rush of adrenaline, causing everything from exhaustion and mood swings to hormonal imbalances, often categorized as adrenal fatigue. Yet, rather than nurture themselves when they notice warning signs, many women try to push through their symptoms, relying on caffeine, sugar, sleep aids, and even alcohol to manage stress, none of which help the body heal.
Mindful eating is a holistic self-care practice that involves giving your body the necessary attention while you enjoy your food and the positive effects it has on your body. It starts with asking yourself, “Am I hungry?” before eating. You then have the opportunity to make a conscious choice to eat what will best serve your body in that moment.
Looking for effective, affordable – natural – solutions for your health? Naturopathic care can bring many benefits to your life, though many people are unsure what to expect. Here’s a quick introduction to how naturopathy can support your health goals and a healthy lifestyle.
Every person deserves to look and feel their best. Good skin care allows you to put your best face forward and take on your career and personal endeavors with confident radiance. Looking for a skin care treatment that reduces signs of aging without surgical intervention? Look no further than microdermabrasion.
Menopause can cause a wide variety of unpleasant symptoms –including allergies. Understanding what triggers allergies and why can help you troubleshoot periods of discomfort and discover preventative self-care.
Our bodies speak to us through symptoms. When we ignore symptoms that disrupt our lives, our body may adapt to increasingly harmful states of mind, body, and spirit, which can increase the intensity, frequency, and number of symptoms. That’s when the body continues to break down.
Bet you thought acne was just for teenagers, right? Actually, it’s very common in adult women. Studies show that acne affects more than 50% of women between the ages of 20–29 and more than 25% of women between the ages of 40–49.
Whether you decided to undergo a hysterectomy because of uterine fibroids, endometriosis, or another health concern, you may be wondering how your health will be affected post-procedure. While hysterectomy does not cause menopause or hot flashes, the act of removing the ovaries and uterus can cause symptoms normally associated with menopause, including the dreaded hot flashes.
Hot flashes, mood changes, night sweats, fatigue, and vaginal dryness, can all plague women of menopausal age; sometimes all at once, sometimes in stages. Even one of these symptoms is enough to sour a good day, or cause you to turn in for the evening when you’d rather stay out.
If you’re like many adults, getting enough nutrients to maintain the energy to feel great each day – minus that extra cup of coffee – is a challenge. So challenging, in fact, that many working adults find themselves suffering from adrenal fatigue, general exhaustion, and pessimism, all adding up to an inability to accomplish their work and enjoy their lives. If this sounds like you, good nutrition can help.
Acupuncture is a therapy used to balance energy, or qi, within the body through the use of small needles and pressure points. This unblocks and increases the flow of qi to promote health and well-being.
Naturopathic doctors (NDs) empower the body to heal itself through a wide variety of treatments. At Water’s Edge Natural Medicine, we combine traditional Chinese Medicine techniques, including acupuncture, with herbal prescriptions and nutritional therapy to support and nourish the body on its healing journey.
Menopause can be frustrating and difficult to manage, which is why many women are turning to nature to discover different ways of reducing fatigue and other symptoms.
With human beings living longer than ever, the validity of stem cells as anti-aging agents is the basis for much research. Longevity relies on the repair and replacement of organs as they fail, a function that stem cells, which are integral to the development of human beings in the womb, may be able to perform.
While the name CranioSacral Therapy (CST) may sound confusing, this therapy is valuable for people of all ages and states of health. Let’s take a look at the process and how you can benefit.
Omega fatty acids are essential to our overall health and well-being. These fats help us build healthy cells, maintain brain and nerve function, and even lower risk of heart disease and protect against type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and age-related mental and physical decline.
Testosterone is a vital hormone for both men and women. Responsible for a variety of bodily functions, from building muscle and bone mass to assisting with sperm production and boosting sex drive, testosterone helps us retain strength and vitality. When the body doesn’t make enough testosterone, there can be serious repercussions.
If you struggle with blemishes, broken capillaries, or rosacea, you understand how important a regular skin regimen is. For 5,000 years, Chinese physicians have treated the body’s ailments through acupuncture, and included in their expertise is optimal skin care.
If improving your health and reducing your risk of chronic disease is on your list of priorities, metabolic detoxification may be for you. While the term “metabolic detoxification” may sound technical, it’s simply a method of clearing toxins from your system and keeping them out, all by flushing them with a carefully planned diet that is specifically tailored to your nutritional and medical needs.
The idea of pricking your body with needles in order to relieve pain may seem counter-intuitive, but thousands of acupuncture patients swear the treatments are effective in addressing pain of all kinds. But can all those needles treat issues like anxiety?
Your skin is your body’s largest organ, but does it get neglected when you’re stressed or busy with holiday events? These are times when your skin needs the most attention, as the most potential damage can occur. Periods of highest stress and celebration tend to occur during the winter. We’re indoors more and moving around less. That can be a challenge for the largest, most visible part of our bodies.
You drink a coffee for breakfast on your way to a meeting and grab a quick salad with grilled chicken on your lunch break. Maybe you sneak a Kit Kat around 3 pm to boost afternoon energy levels and then chow down on lasagna at dinner.
Natural home remedies are appealing for a number of reasons. Using natural ingredients to heal the body is a spot-on practice that can yield fantastic results with little effort. Plus, treating physical ailments using things you already have around the house is an inexpensive way to stay healthy.
Winter is a time of retreat, when human beings spend more time inside, local crops diminish until Spring, and, in this corner of the U.S., sunlit hours decrease. All of these changes can add up to seasonal colds and feelings of stress or weariness.
As menopause brings physical and emotional shifts as a woman’s hormones change over time, this phase of life can seem dramatic and stressful. Yet it can also bring increased freedom, maturity, experience, and wisdom. Viewed from a positive angle, menopause is an excellent time to focus on your personal growth and vitality for the years ahead.
Dry skin can happen at any time of year and can make your hands, elbows, and face feel rough, irritated, and inflamed. If you’re plagued by dry skin, there are natural ways to keep your first layer of defense soft, smooth, and supple, none of which require expensive products or procedures.
Are you feeling tired and dizzy? Do you have food cravings and feel hungry no matter how much you eat? Do you have difficulty recovering from exercise? If you experience these symptoms, you might have problems with your adrenals. Also known as suprarenal glands, these glands play multiple roles in your endocrine system, a system that provides your body with the hormones it requires to stimulate essential processes.
While you may have spied your first wrinkle or noticed a shift in your metabolism in your mid-thirties, it probably wasn’t until midlife that you began to feel your body moving toward maturity. While old(er) age brings with it increased freedoms (kids are independent or moved out, career is stable), the needs of our bodies are different than they were in the decades before.
Halloween is coming and we know that this is one of the most fun holidays for kids! Stores are full of candy and costumes and it’s easy to give in and let your kids indulge in sweets.
Menopause brings on a host of physical and emotional changes. With a list of dreaded symptoms associated with menopause taking the wheel, it’s hard to imagine the ride being a fun one, particularly when it comes to intimacy. With your partner possibly experiencing Andropause, the likelihood of getting any satisfaction at all appears small.
Feeling less zest for life than usual? If you are of menopausal age (anywhere from 35 – 55) and are feeling “off,” “not myself,” or are suffering from “brain fog,” you may have a hormonal imbalance.
If you have ever experienced a bout of depression, or have struggled with the condition long-term, you know how destructive and difficult it can be to manage it. Treatments that seem like miracle cures can end up failing or, in the case of some medications, cause weight gain, loss of libido, and even a sense of numbness that defeats the purpose of treating the illness in the first place.
Some people can fall asleep at the drop of a hat; they’re in dreamland before their heads hit the pillow. However, for those of us that have a harder time, naturopathic medicine can help. Whether you are a shift worker who must constantly adjust to schedule changes, a busy parent who needs to make the most of her child’s naptime, or a college student whose classes and social calendar leave little time for a good snooze, natural sleep remedies can help you get the replenishing shut-eye you need.
Adrenal fatigue can put you through a lot, both physically and emotionally. Did you know there are strong connections between diet and adrenal fatigue? Let’s talk about what foods to eat and which ones to avoid to help you live a healthy lifestyle, free of chronic adrenal fatigue.
If you’re looking to change your eating habits by integrating a variety of fresh, local ingredients into your diet, you’re making the right step towards positive health! Local farmers markets are the perfect place to buy fresh vegetables and fruit! Here are some tips on what to buy at market.
